The veteran's low back disability is rated at 20% under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The Board finds no evidence to support a higher rating based on incapacitating episodes or other criteria. Service connection for hypertension, heart murmur, and aortic insufficiency with bicuspid valve is denied as not due to service-connected residuals of low back injury or an undiagnosed illness. The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support the presence of incapacitating episodes that would warrant a higher rating under the Formula for Rating Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Based on Incapacitating Episodes. Service connection is denied as there is no competent medical evidence to link the veteran's heart condition to service or an undiagnosed illness.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a low back injury with laminectomy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2006
- Citation
- 0611725
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0611725.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Granted
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
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